Lemon Pesto Chicken and Cucumber Salad

I'm always looking for new and tasty ways to grill chicken; our menu always has several meals planned as "Chicken Breast --- side dish/veggie." One particular night last week it was - Chicken Breast with Greek Salad," and I was desperate for a new twist on our normal Chicken. Scouring the fridge for something quick, easy and light - this was my answer!

Lemon Pesto Chicken

• 2 chicken breasts, thawed
• 1/4 lemon
• 2 Tb. pesto
• Pepper
• Toothpicks

1. Carefully butterfly the chicken breasts; starting at the thinner end cut the chicken breast almost in half horizontally. Lay open.




2. Place 2 lemon slice on 1 half of the chicken; spread 1 Tb pesto over lemon. Repeat with other chicken. Fold other half back on top and secure chicken and lemons with toothpicks. Unfortunately I didn't get pictures of the toothpicks - I inserted them at a slight angle making sure to go through the top, a lemon and the bottom. I think I used 3-4 toothpicks per chicken breast.



3. Grill chicken until cooked throughout. Once fully cooked, remove from grill and let set for approx 3-5 minutes to let the juices settle.

Cucumber Salad

I love Greek Salad. Feta is my friend; we get along quite well. But I decided to change up my Greek salad a little!

• 1/2 large cucumber
• 1 Tb. finely minced red onion
• 1 Roma tomato
• Olive oil
• Italian Dressing
• Salt & Pepper

1. Rinse cucumber - to give it a different visual dynamic, I thinly sliced the cucumber using a vegetable peeler. Place in a small bowl.




2. Large dice the tomato and add , with the onion, to the cucumber.


3. Drizzle with a liiiiiiittle bit of olive oil and Italian Dressing. Salt and Pepper to taste. Stir and let set for 5-10 minutes.



4. Serve over a salad, or as a side dish on it's own.

Next time, I will make more of this - I kept snacking on it while preparing the rest of the meal!

This picture shows the chicken breast cut in half - it was very pretty and had a strong flavor. It's something I would make for company....Hubs voted for more pesto next time around; I think instead of more pesto though I will actually add a couple of basil leaves to intensify the basil pesto flavor.

Here is the whole meal - for the salad I layered chopped lettuce and spinach, cucumber salad, chopped Kalamata olives and Feta cheese.

TIP: When making a dish with raw chicken that has several steps and ingredients definitely gather all the ingredients and utensils you will need before you begin touching the chicken! Pre-slice the lemon, and go ahead and dish the pesto into a small bowl. This way you cut down on the risk of cross-contamination. You will dirty a couple more dishes.... but it's worth it!

Go to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Tasty Tuesday for more recipes!

This is also posted in Foodie Friday and Friday Feasts!